Description
Object description
Amateur film shot by Harold Salisbury recording the continuation of traditional English country life in and around the village of Elmley Castle in Worcestershire, during the Second World War.
Content description
REEL ONE: Scenes of traditional English village life continue unaffected by war, a lone man in Home Guard uniform the only hint of conflict in the wider world.
Content description
"Elmley Castle...A Worcestershire village 1941": A woman walks along street in Elmley Castle village away from the camera. Camera then focuses on map of Worcestershire, and zooms in to focus on Elmley Castle on the map. Man walks through village away from the camera. Smoke drifts from chimneys. Red telephone box visible in background. Panning shot of cottages including Grooms Cottage. Small stream/brook running through village. Sheep graze on grassland by stream. Family with dog walk through village. Red brick cottage with thatched roof. A man with small child attempts to interest the child in the camera. Man cycles through village away from the camera. Family work on their garden outside cottage. Elderly woman in conversation with the cameraman. Views of thatched cottage. Chickens on farm track. Ducks feed and swim in pond. A shire horse is led through the street by a man in Home Guard uniform. Sheep and lambs grazing in field. Harold Salisbury walks through the village with Sambo the dog and stops to talk to an elderly woman. Exterior views of large unidentified house. Harold and Hugh Salisbury stand in the grounds of Park House [Elizabethan mansion demolished in 1962] with their mother and the owner of the house, the elderly General Sir Francis Davies (smoking a pipe). Views of St Mary's Church. Elderly lady holding sleeping baby wrapped in shawl. St Mary's churchyard. Spring flowers including snowdrops, crocuses, primroses and pansies. "The End": The sun sets over the village.
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REEL TWO: Life in Elmley Castle appears to continue little interrupted by the war.
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B&W – "Elmley Castle 1939-41": View of field from car. Station sign (partly obscured by camera) 'Elmley Castle Station'. Hugh Salisbury walks in front of the camera as children play on the street in the background.. A policeman poses on his bicycle. Flock of birds in flight. Country lane. Harold Salisbury stands in front of a timber framed cottage. Hugh Salisbury engages elderly lady in conversation at front door of her cottage. Elderly man with a stoop walks along the street towards the camera. Sambo the dog plays in field. Brief shot of building sign "Ye Old Millhouse J.E.S. Allen Proprietor". Hugh in conversation with villagers. Ducks on pond. Men including Hugh walk through village, one man carrying a shot gun. Close up shots of various villagers. Man on motorbike follows camera. Views of village. Boy cycles through the village. Harold walks with Sambo past Grooms Cottage. Three young boys positioned on cottage doorstep pose for the camera, smiling self-consciously. Harold walks towards St Mary's churchyard. Smoke from cottage chimneys drifts past the camera. Harold in conversation with villagers. Brief glimpse of twin engine aircraft in the sky [possibly an Avro Anson or an Airspeed Oxford].
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Colour (204ft) - Countryside views. "Autumn". Map with Elmley Castle highlighted. Deer in park. Cattle graze in field. Harold Salisbury sets up camera on tripod. Exterior views of large house [property also appears in reel one]. Harold filming from a distance. Harold's fiancée Joan and an unidentified woman play with two dogs. Views of street in village. Harold and older gentleman go for a walk with their dogs. Views of the autumnal scenery. A horse pulls a cart through the street. Close up shot of man smoking pipe, holding the horse's reins. A red tractor is driven through the village, and overtakes a car. Three young boys climb over wall into field, with cottages visible in the background. Harold Salisbury walks through village a carrying small milk jug. A black and white cat is seen first sitting on a windowsill, then in the branches of a tree covered in spring blossom. Harold returns with the milk. An unidentified man in Home Guard uniform walks past the camera and then poses with his rifle. Children play in field. A man smokes a cigarette while he clips a hedge and is then seen on a bicycle heading towards the camera. Harold and Joan examine the exteriors of an old stone building. Close up shots of young girl in red dress, and three young boys smiling for the camera. Panning shot of countryside and cloud formations. Sunset views.
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REEL THREE: Village life in Elmley Castle continues during the early days of the Second World War, a period often referred to as the 'Phoney War' due to the lack of major military action taken by Britain and France against Germany.
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"Elmley in Autumn September 1939 Part 2": B&W – Harold and Hugh's mother sits at table in conversation with family. Chrysanthemums in vase. Family enjoying sandwiches and fruit cake, and engaging in conversation [some seemingly self-conscious due to the presence of the camera]. Harold plays a record on the gramophone. Unidentified woman smokes a cigarette while an unidentified older gentleman smokes a pipe. In the garden, Harold scoops water into a metal pail using a saucepan. Harold's mother walks past with her back to the camera. Harold clears garden pond. Goldfish swim vigorously in fish bowl.
Content description
Colour (57ft) – Harold looks at the camera and puts on sunglasses with a smile. Hugh stands looking up at tall trees, branches moving easily in the wind. Hugh whistles to Sambo the dog and shakes dog's paw. Scenic views of the Worcestershire countryside. Travelling by car (filmed from the front passenger seat). Close up shot of pansies. Harold feeds Sambo treats. Dog eats from small white bowl. Stationary car (registration number WP 5180). Hugh opens rear passenger door for unidentified female passenger. Hugh walks through orchard with unidentified man and woman, stopping to turn and look at the camera.
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B&W (146ft) – Mrs Salisbury and Hugh play with Sambo in living room.
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Colour (181ft) – Stationary car (registration number OC 9729). Hugh emerges from car and opens car door for his mother. Walking through field with dogs down towards village. Brief shot of car then views of village from the car. Views from front passenger seat of road into the village of Bibury in Gloucestershire. Exterior shots of the 'Swan Hotel', with red ivy growing on the exterior of the building. Views of the River Coln covered with algae.
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B&W (263ft) – Sambo playing in garden. Dressed in naval uniforms, Hugh and male companion walk through Elmley Castle. Hugh goofs for the camera, fully kitted out in flying gear including fur lined boots. Mrs Salisbury plays with Sambo. Family scenes in living room. Group of men in the foreground, some in uniform. Brief exterior shot featuring men in Home Guard uniform in the background. Unidentified woman emerges from house clutching a black cat. "Ha Ha! It's the jolly old end of the film what what!"
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REEL FOUR: As the Battle of Britain is fought over Kent, the Salisburys take a break in Buckinghamshire.
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"Introducing": Close up shots of various people including Hugh Salisbury. "A July picnic 1940 [with the Burdens - can marking]".
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Colour – Car emerges from garage, registration number CAR 991. Travelling by car. Clouds and solitary contrail visible in the sky. "Latimer Buckinghamshire". Sign marked "Private". Setting up and enjoying picnic, complete with self-assembly table, sandwiches and flasks of tea. "Larking at Latimer". Playing games. Checking under bonnet of car. Views of surrounding countryside. Hugh Salisbury walks along a country lane with two ladies, and is passed by a small car in military markings and a soldier in uniform. "The River Chess": Views of the River Chess in the sunshine.
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REEL FIVE: As London and other British cities including Plymouth and Bristol continue to be bombed by the Luftwaffe, life continues peacefully in Elmley Castle.
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"Martin Top Farm Spring 1941". View of farmhouse. A cat sits on a doorstep. Tall tree [no leaves on tree so early springtime]. Bird in flight. Harold walking through woodland. Scenic views. An unidentified aircraft flies overhead. Derelict buildings. River. Cattle graze in a field. Cows and chickens in straw strewn farmyard. A man chops wood. Sunset views. Bonfire burning. "Ha ha it's the jolly old end of the film": Ends with brief shot of Hugh jumping in front of the camera.
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REEL SIX: Scenes of an English country garden in its prime, little impeded by the war.
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"Whitsun 1941 – Ma's garden in fine fettle". Harold and Hugh's mother walks around garden at Lea House picking flowers, assisted by Sambo the dog. Forget-me-nots, primroses and pansies growing around rockery. Trellis in garden. Hugh walks through garden. Mother sat in deckchair in garden reading newspaper. Mother emerges from house and walks through village with Sambo. Picking blossom from overhanging tree. A smartly dressed man talks to Mrs Salisbury. Man with cigarette gardening. Mrs Salisbury in garden with friends. Sambo in the garden. Mother looks out of bedroom window and waves at camera.
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REEL SEVEN: The human impact of war is clearly visible as the Salisburys visit the Paget family at Warren House, transformed into a military convalescent home for wounded members of the armed forces. The Salisbury brothers also pay noted artist Dora Gordine a visit at her home in London.
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Colour – Exterior views of Warren House at Kingston in Surrey. An unidentified woman admires a flowering shrub. A puppy is held up to the camera. Colourful leaves on trees. Purple irises sway in the breeze. Views of water garden. Clouds in the sky. Rhododendrons. Panning shots of large garden. Foxgloves blooming. People walking around garden. Woman in a dark blue uniform walks past the camera. Two men make slow progress along the river in a small rowing boat. A group of nurses in uniform congregate in the grounds of Warren House, accompanied by an unidentified man holding a book. The nurses pose with male patients from various branches of the armed forces. Some of the men stand, while others are sat on a chair or in a wheelchair, but all appear good natured and happy. The men's injuries appear quite varied and of different levels of severity.
Content description
B&W (246ft) – "Dorich House". Panning shot of sign for Dorich House, the London home of artist Dora Gordine and her husband Richard Hare. Harold Salisbury shakes hands with Dora Gordine and her husband Richard. Harold walks around with protective covering on his feet. Drinking sherry. Admiring statues. On roof of building. Goofing for the camera with Dora Gordine. Leaving house. Walking along road. Ducks on river. "The End".
The word “sambo” was historically used to refer to people of African and Amerindian ancestry and more recently used as a racial slur used towards Black people in America.
Helen Bannerman published the illustrated children’s book The Story of Little Black Sambo in 1899 and it was an immediate success in England and America. The book’s success led to many unauthorised versions in America, which used new illustrations that contained racist caricatures of Little Black Sambo, his mother (Black Mumbo) and his father (Black Jumbo).
Physical description
16mm